Early Scouting Report: Missouri Tigers

The University of Missouri is entering year 12 in the SEC this season. Since making the move from the Big 12, the Tigers have been through three head coaches and own a 69-56 (.552) overall record. This has very much been a .500 program that got hot from 2013 and 2014 for 23 wins and two SEC East titles.

After two years under Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri has come in just below that SEC standard at 11-12 (.478). The former offensive coordinator at NC State and head coach at App State has a big year ahead of him in 2022.

Our early scouting report series continues with an SEC East program that Kentucky has had recent dominance over with a 6-1 record over the last seven seasons.

Nuts and Bolts

As Missouri transitioned into the SEC, the culture fit stuck out. Some wondered if this midwest school would fit well in a league with a strong southern footprint. While the fit has not been seamless, that has not been the biggest issue in Columbia.

The biggest problem has been talent accumulation.

Following the retirement of Gary Pinkel, defensive coordinator Barry Odom was elevated to head coach, and the former Missouri linebacker would spend four seasons as the head coach for the Tigers. Odom accumulated a 25-25 record over those years and was dismissed after the 2019 season. The on-field results weren’t great, but the recruiting may have been what did the alum in.

The Tigers never recruited at a top-30 level under Odom and that gave the decision makers enough leverage to make a change. After an early list of candidates was shot down, Mizzou paid big for Eliah Drinkwitz after just one season spent at App State.

The recruiting work has given this program hope for the future.

After signing a top-40 haul in the class of 2021, Missouri busted through for the best class in program history in 2022. The Tigers inked 10 top-500 recruits and cleaned up in the Show Me State by landing five top-300 prospects. Drinkwitz has shown some chops on the recruiting trail.

Now the head coach needs some wins.

Transfer Portal recap

Missouri was another SEC program that was busy on the waiver wire as the Tigers saw 17 players leave the program and enter the transfer portal. Indiana, Kansas State, LSU, Oklahoma, and TCU landed players from Mizzou as this program lost some good players. But the portal is a two-way street.

The Tigers added 11 transfers to the roster, and this group was highlighted by a handful of players along the front seven that come from other Power Five programs. Mizzou is looking to upgrade its defensive front seven and should have multiple transfers starting on defense this season.

However, the Tigers did not check every box on its portal shopping list. Missouri lost quarterback Connor Bazelak to Indiana and went searching for a player to come in and start at Mizzou. The staff swung and miss on Gerry Bohanon (USF), Jayden Daniels (LSU), and JT Daniels (West Virginia). That has put the program in a tough spot.

Drinkwitz added former Southern Miss and Mississippi State quarterback Jack Abraham as a walk-on, but the super senior is unlikely to contribute unless the injury bug arrives.

Missouri offense

Under Drinkwitz, Mizzou has been an outside zone offense that operates primarily from the pistol and uses a good dose of play-action. However, creating splash plays has been a struggle throughout two seasons. The Tigers need to get more explosive.

Let’s take a look at the numbers from last season before diving into the personnel.

• Scoring: 29.1 (T-60 overall)
• Success Rate: 43.6% (No. 60 overall)
• Yards Per Play: 5.9 (No. 67 overall)
• Yards Per Rush: 5.1 (No. 28 overall)
• Yards Per Attempt: 6.7 (No. 102 overall)
• Explosive Play Rate: 9.8% (No. 118 overall)
• Points Per Scoring Opportunity: 4.1 (No. 68 overall)

Despite having a strong rushing attack, Missouri’s offense went through some struggles last season due to the passing game’s inability to create chunk plays. Unfortunately, both of those areas are a concern entering this season.

Tyler Badie is off to the NFL after rushing for 1,604 yards on 22.3 attempts per game. The sixth-round pick posted was oftentimes the entire offense for Missouri last season as the tailback also recorded 54 receptions for 330 yards to give him 26.8 touches per game. He leaves behind big shoes to fill.

The Tigers enter 2022 without their star and an unstable situation at quarterback.

There is no longer a competition, however, as Brady Cook (6-2, 206, RSo.) became the starter in Columbia on Tuesday. The in-state prospect was the backup to Bazelak last season and started against Army in the Armed Forces Bowl. The young quarterback showed some promise tossing for 238 yards on 7.0 yards per attempt, but a lot is unknown about the former three-star recruit.

In the backfield, Missouri went into the transfer portal to find some help. Nathaniel Peat (5-10, 206, Sr.) rushed for 665 yards on 5.7 yards per rush in three years at Stanford. The transfer is coming back to his hometown and is the favorite to take over the RB1 spot in Drinkwitz’s offense. If the Tigers produce a 1,000-yard rusher again, it will likely be Peat.

At wideout, leading pass catcher Tauskie Dove (6-2, 194, RSr.) returns after recording 38 receptions for 576 yards. The Texas native has shown real progress under Drinkwitz and will be an important part of the offense. Youth will take over after that.

LUTHER BURDEN. WOW.

65-YARD TD ON THE FIRST PLAY OF THE GAME❗️ pic.twitter.com/tMrOx9iikY

— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2022

Luther Burden III (5-11, 215) was a top-five recruit in the class of 2022 out of East St. Louis (Mo.) High and the diaper dandy is expected to make an immediate impact at Missouri. The true freshman had a very good spring and has a chance to be WR1 this fall. He isn’t the only young player on the outside.

Both Ohio State transfer Mookie Cooper (5-8, 188, RSo.) and Dominic Lovett (5-10, 187, So.) are back for year two at Missouri. The former blue-chip recruits combined for 43 receptions last season, and this offense needs both to take a big jump forward.

Missouri is hopeful that wide receiver will become a strength for the team. The offensive line also has a chance to become that.

Left tackle Javon Foster (6-5, 319, RSr.) is one of the most underrated players in the SEC and could become one of the top tackles in college football this season. At right tackle, Hyrin White (6-7, 336, Super) is very solid giving the Tigers a great duo at tackle. This could be a sneaky good offensive line if former top-500 recruit Connor Tollison (6-4, 287, RFr.) can step in and give the offense solid play as a young player at center.

There are some pieces to build around, but a young offense is likely to experience some real growing pains this season despite having a dependable offensive line.

Missouri defense

Drinkwitz is entering year four as a head coach, and the offensive coach is on his fourth defensive coordinator in four years. A drastic change was needed after a woeful year.

Let’s take at Missouri’s statistical profile in 2021.

• Scoring: 33.8 (No. 113 overall)
• Success Rate: 44.6% (No. 94 overall)
• Yards Per Play: 6.4 (No. 113 overall)
• Yards Per Rush: 5.3 (No. 116 overall)
• Yards Per Attempt: 8.2 (No. 108 overall)
• Havoc Rate: 12.3% (No. 60 overall)
• Pressure Rate: 17.3% (No. 18 overall)
• Takeaways: 16 (T-68 overall)
• Points Per Scoring Opportunity: 4.1 (No. 62 overall)

Under former NFL head coach Steve Wilks, the Tigers were a single-high safety defense that wanted to put pressure on offenses by taking chances. Missouri had a high blitz rate and swung for the fences. That led to a strong pressure rate but not much success anywhere else.

Missouri was woeful against both the run and pass as the Tigers had one of the worst defenses in the Power Five. Blake Baker is taking over this unit, and the former defensive coordinator at Miami will still put a high emphasis on creating pressure as generating tackles for loss was a big part of the recipe for Baker.

It’s clear that Drinkwitz has a defensive DNA he wants his teams to play with. We’ll see if the personnel is there to succeed at this brand of football.

The run defense has a lot to prove, but on paper, the defensive line looks like the best positional unit on the team. Trajan Jeffcoat (6-4, 274, RSr.), Isaiah McGuire (6-4, 275, Sr.), and Darius Robinson (6-5, 295, Sr.) all return. The veteran trio combined for 24.5 tackles for loss last season and will need to be playmakers for the unit.

Oklahoma State transfer Jayden Jernigan (6-0, 277, RJr.) joins the group after a very strong season in Stillwater despite a lack of size. The unit also added transfers from Auburn and Baylor. If the defense makes big improvements, the defensive line will be a big reason why.

An argument could be made that the biggest weakness of the defense was at the second level. The Tigers got some playmaking last year at off-ball linebacker (21 tackles for loss), but the group found itself out of position constantly and that led to some big plays on the ground. The Tigers went to the transfer portal to help fill the void.

Ty’Ron Hopper (6-2, 224, RJr.) was added from Florida after the former top-100 recruit started four games last season recording 62 tackles and eight tackles for loss in a defensive scheme that also hunted tackles for loss. Missouri needs the transfer to become a leader in the middle and to provide more dependable play.

In the secondary, Missouri has its best player on the roster. After starting his career at receiver, Kris Abrams-Draine (5-11, 178, Jr.) developed into one of the best slot corners in college football last season recording 10 pass breakups/interceptions in 601 snaps. At SEC Media Days, Drinkwitz stated that Abrams-Draine will be switching to outside cornerback. This is a bonafide NFL prospect who could turn into a top-50 pick with a strong campaign.

Jaylon Carlies (6-3, 219, Jr.) and Martez Manuel (6-0, 215, Sr.) also return as starters in the secondary after each played over 700 snaps last season. The Tigers are getting Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (6-0, 175, RSo.) back from injury and that should help the cornerback situation.

The defense was bad last year, but with eight returning starters and some key transfer additions, there is a legitimate reason for optimism in CoMo.

Outlook

The ceiling is not very high for Missouri football in 2022, but this remains an important year for the program. Eliah Drinkwitz has not posted a winning season yet in Columbia and that should be the goal for the Tigers this fall.

The offense is strong on the line of scrimmage but has a bunch of young talent and a brand new quarterback. That creates a lot of potential outcomes, but we should expect a rocky season filled with ups and downs. Missouri needs to have a strong defense this fall.

Blake Baker inherits an experienced unit that was bad last year. However, the Tigers do have some NFL talent on the roster and have the pieces to make a big jump on defense. If success comes for this team, it will be due to that side of the ball.

Drinkwitz has raised Mizzou’s recruiting ceiling and is going a great job of keeping local talent home. But that won’t last unless some wins come on the field. Missouri could have the personnel to have a breakthrough season in 2023, but a foundation must be created this fall.